Generally, in any method for producing a decoration on a component for a timepiece or piece of jewellery, it is difficult to structure said decoration in order to produce fine lacework cutouts or to obtain microstructures. Several operations for producing the decoration are also performed manually. This makes it impossible for the same decoration to be easily reproduced from one part to the next, which is a drawback.
JP Patent Application No. S60-17383 A describes a method for manufacturing a watch dial provided with a decoration. To achieve this, hollows are made by etching or mechanical cutting in a certain pattern in a metal-based substrate of the dial. One or more paints are inserted in the hollows created in order to decorate said watch dial. A polishing operation can also be provided to finish the decorated dial. However, it is also impossible to make a decoration with a fine pattern on said dial, which is a drawback.
It is also known in the prior art to produce one or more decorative parts intended to be mounted on a watch. These decorative parts consist of aesthetic elements inlaid on a portion of the watch. This may be a watch bezel decorated with patterns, such as indices. The bezel, made for example of ceramic, may be marked notably in gold, silver or platinum, with raised or deep markings. Deep marking is achieved by filling hollows formed earlier in the support.
The principle used for producing such deep marking consists in first of all depositing a conductive layer by physical vapour deposition (PVD). Once the conductive layer has been deposited, the hollows are filled with a metal by electroforming, by immersing the part in a metal ion bath and passing an electrical current through the bath. The hollows are therefore filled with metal to form said marking. However, this method is complex and relatively slow to implement to produce the decorative part on the watch, since several production steps are required, which is a drawback. Further, it is not intended to obtain microstructures, which is a drawback.
Reference may be made in this regard to EP Patent Application No. 2 138 323 A1, which concerns a watch bezel with inlaid indices. However, as previously mentioned, it is not intended to easily produce microstructures or fine lacework for decorating a watch component, which is a drawback.
It is also known in the prior art to produce decorative parts, which are formed of a metal-based substrate, inlaid with elements, for example made of glass. To achieve this, said elements are disposed in a mould and a liquid metal is poured onto the elements in the mould. Once the metal has solidified, a polishing operation must also be performed on the metal-based substrate, which includes the decorative elements, in order to remove the surplus metal around the elements. However, it is not possible to produce fine decorations on the base substrate and further, the decorative elements are not guaranteed to be held in the base substrate after polishing, which constitute drawbacks.
Patent Publication Nos US 2003/0007425 A1, CH 155 823, U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,344 A and CH 314 048 describe the production of a watch component, such as a dial or watch hand. Through holes are made in a plate of the component to define a decoration element or time indicators for a watch dial. These holes are also filled with a luminescent substance. However, it is not intended to form a decoration by micromachining in order to obtain fine lacework cutouts or to obtain microstructures, which is a drawback.